October 31, 2010

Favourite Look of the Week: Nina Dobrev


Nina Dobrev kept it classy and simple in a LBD at Spike TV's Scream 2010 awards.

What she's wearing: Rock & Republic’s “Marisol” matte jersey v-neck long-sleeve minidress with shirring and paired with the “Pavia” clutch and Diesel Ava Chain Strap Sandals.

And while we're here, a little eye candy from the awards:

October 30, 2010

New love: Coastal Scents Camo Quad

 

A few weeks back I ordered some brushes from Coastal Scents. Along with those, I also added the Camo Quad concealer in Medium. I’d seen bloggers raving about it and I thought I’d try it.

I have very dark under eye circles (I blame it on the long hours spent in front of a computer) because I do sleep quite well on most days. A concealer has been my best friend from quite some time now. Without it, I look like I was hit by a truck. Not pretty. At all!!

My concealer requirements: Creamy, blends well, and gives good coverage (I hate foundations). Apart from concealers, I like to keep my skin natural.. So, I need my concealer to do all the covering.

Enough about me. More about the quad.

So, here’s the review.

Price: $7.95 or INR 350

What they say:

Camo Quads contain 4 cream concealers. These apply with a light feel and blend easily to cover imperfections of the skin. All 3 Concealer Quads contain a white highlight shade, this is used on the inner and outer corner of the eye to impart a bright and wide awake appearance to tired eyes. White can also be used to lighten and custom blend a shade in order for it to match your skin tone. We offer these in Light, Medium and Dark tone compacts. Use on clean, moisturized skin prior to applying your foundation and powder.

Camo Quad`

What I say:

I love how creamy this is. It blends like a dream and is very pigmented. Its quite opaque, so it does a good job of covering my dark circles. It does dry to a powder finish, but its never looked cakey nor has it flaked on me, in spite of my really dry skin (I do moisturize really well). The coverage is buildable. Does require a bit of blending though. I like that there are 4 shades. You can always mix it to get the right shade for you.

The white color in the quad may look scary to most Indians. But, if you blend it well, it does work well on the inner corners of your eyes. I use it on days when I have to go out somewhere early morning ( I am so not a morning person). The other 2 lighter shades are a little useless as concealers, but they work as good eye primers, and for highlighting. They make even not-so-great-quality shadows look really bright.

I think Medium was the wrong one for me (They look darker in the pan than they are on the skin). The darkest shade in the quad just about works for my under-eye area. But it’s still too light to use on my blemishes. (By Indian standards, I’m medium skin toned). I think Dark would be a better choice for Indian skin tones (Unless you’re really fair) because it does have lighter shades in it.

I’ve found that fingers work best with this one. Its a thick consistency, which I really like. I find that liquid concealers don’t give me enough coverage.

And I almost forgot, it has great staying power. I had it on me for 12 hours once and it stayed right where it was supposed to.

Overall, its a product I’m loving right now. I’ll continue using this one till I find something better, but I will buy the Dark one the next time. And for the price, I think its a great buy.

Camo Quad1

P.S. I’ve read a lot of reviews saying these quads melt in summer, so I’d suggest storing them in a cool place. Also, I’ve heard Coastal Scents doesn’t ship these in summer. So, if you buy it and you like it, I’d suggest stocking up for the summer, though I’m not sure how these will fare in hotter weather. But, it is quite hot right now where I live and it seems to be working fine.

October 29, 2010

CherryCulture - 20% Off

Hey guys... CherryCulture is having 20% off everything in the store. So if you've been waiting to order something, now would be a great time. Its only valid till October 31.

October 19, 2010

An Old Favourite: Nature's Way Anti-Tan Fade Pack

I'm usually a very lazy person when it comes to skin care. I try my best to stick to my daily skin routine, but thats it. The whole regular pampering of skin is something I always fail to do. I have plenty of face packs lying at home, but I rarely use them. Most of them I end up throwing away when they expire, and they're more often than not, more than half full. So, for quite some time, I've just stopped buying them. The only time I'll use them is if I'm sitting extremely jobless at home, or if I have somewhere special to go.

Because of this terrible habit of mine, I like products that give instant gratification. I can't be bothered with regular applications. (Some products say 'use thrice a week for best results'. Its a miracle if I use it more than once in 2 months). I'm not expecting miracles in one application, but atleast a noticeable difference.

So, this is where the Nature's Way Anti-Tan fade pack came into the picture.

What it claims: 
A wonderful anti tan fade pack which brightens skin instantly. Use it without fear as it has no chemicals like ammonia and peroxide. Use thrice a week for better result. Removes tan very effectively.

Ingredients:

Price: Rs. 125/- for 50ml
What it does: 
It does brighten your skin instantly. I have dry and dull looking skin. This gives a nice glow to my skin and really moisturises it. I honestly don't know effective it is in removing tans. I've never used it regularly enough to  see any noticeable tan removal.

Verdict:
I love this face pack. I love the way my face glows after using this. And I love how soft my skin feels after.

There are some cons to this too. It is a very thick cream, so it can be a pain to take off. Also, I think the quantity is quite less. I use it once in 2-3 months. So, its lasted me over a year now. Might not be the same for someone who wants to use it regularly.

Availability is a big question mark. I have no idea where you can get this from. I got this as a sample from our salon. The beauty manager ends up giving my dad a ton of the samples that companies leave with her, every time he goes to the centre for some work. I'm almost done with mine and I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get it again. They do have a website and their located in Hyderabad. So, only option is to mail/call them and enquire.

Some of the ingredients in this pack control sebum production, which probably means that it would be more suited for people with oily skin. Works great for dry skin too.

Will I buy it again? Definitely, if I can find it again.



October 17, 2010

101 Started

Compiling a list of 101 goals wasn't easy. But I've done it. And I start on Oct 18. The sooner the better.
I started a new blog to keep track of my progress. Its more for me than for anyone else. But I'd love it if you guys checked it out and shared your opinions with me.

Check out my blog here: http://thejourney101goals1001days.blogspot.com/

October 16, 2010

101 in 1001?

 

So, I was reading this great blog by DAME RENÉE and I was reading about her 101 in 1001 project. It’s really interesting and then I googled it and found it’s quite the rage. I found so many bloggers doing it and I was really inspired to try one myself. I think it’s a great way to re-analyze your life goals and actually take a step forward in fulfilling those goals.

I’ve had a million to-do-lists in the past and I’ve failed all of them. I wanted to learn to play the keyboard, I wanted to learn to cook, I wanted to do some social work, I wanted to get my Java certification (started the course, so not bad), have a proper exercise regimen, and so many other things. I haven’t done any of those.

I’m a big fan of to-do lists. The organisational freak in me loves compiling list, but its the doing part that always gets me. So, this 101 in 1001 project really appealed to me. I’ll have 2.75 years from the start of my project to complete the list. That’s not bad. I’ll have plenty of time to complete my goals.

College finished a few months back and I don’t start work till November end. All this free time has made me extremely lazy, and I feel like I’m completely useless. I haven’t done anything worthwhile in ages. This list might finally get me back on track.

I’m going to start working on my list, and if possible, I’ll start another blog with constant updates on how my list is going. I think having other people know about my life project will help me keep up with it.

About the 101 in 1001 project:

Read about it here: http://dayzeroproject.com/about/

And I found this great website which really helps in creating your list, tips and stuff.

http://101goalsin1001days.com/

 

So, What do you think? Will you make a list of your own?

October 15, 2010

Dresses and Clutches

I saw these clutches this morning and I’m seriously lusting after them. I’m on a no shopping ban which means I can’t buy any of them. But I can look right?

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And these are the dresses:

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Now, this dress below I fell in love with. But I took so much time  deliberating whether it was worth breaking my shopping ban over that it got sold out. As soon as October gets over, I’m going to go look for this dress. Or at least try finding this print so I can get it stitched.

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The clutches are on sale at brandmile.com and the dresses at fashion and you. I’m not advertising for either one. Just sharing what I liked and maybe it’ll help someone else.

Both of these sites are invites only. So, if you aren’t already a member, here are your invites.

http://Pooja531541.fashionandyou.com

http://www.brandmile.com/invite/9fMdW/

Easy J: Who Do You Like The Best?

 

So, which one of them do you like the best from next week’s episode of Gossip Girl?

easy j blair 2

The outfit is meh, but love the bag and the necklace.

easy j blair

easy j serena

I kind of like this outfit. But I wish Serena would do something different with her hair for once. The messy look is getting old.

easy j serena 2

Doesn’t it look like her boobs are about to fall out? And that outfit is terrible.

easy j jenny

Why didn’t anybody teach her how to stand straight?

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I would have liked that dress on someone who’s not Taylor Momsen.

And the one below is from a future episode, I think. I love this dress.

blair future

And I found these pictures of Blake Lively and I honestly wonder why they’ve never tried this kind of hair for her on the show. I’ve honestly had enough of her dry messy hair on the show and would welcome some change.

blake curls blake curls 2

So, which look do you guys like the best?

October 14, 2010

Wild and Crazy Eyeshadow Review

 

Sorry I’ve been a MIA for a while, but I joined some classes last week and it’s been keeping me busy.

So, I wanted to review the Wild and Crazy e/s singles from my cherryculture haul. When I first saw these on cherryculture, I’d never heard of them. But they were only $2 (Rs. 88/-) and it was one of their Insider Picks. So I thought I’d try them. I only got 3 becuase I didn’t want to buy too many and then be stuck with crappy eyeshadows if I didn’t like them.  But these give great color pay-off for the price and I wished I’d ordered some more.

Price: $2 for 1.5 g/0.5 oz

Here are the pics with the swatches from the cherryculture.com website:

Wild n Crazy eyeshadows

The Good:

  • Very Pigmented. For the price, I was quite surprised how pigmented the colors were.
  • Really cheap.
  • I find the pots really cute. Its got a screw-on lid with a transparent window, so I can see the color.
  • The texture is really smooth, almost silky.
  • They have quite a wide selection of colors. Cherryculture has them in 68 shades.
  • Quite long lasting. I had it on for an entire day with no fading.
  • Blends well.

The Bad:

  • It has a bit of a fallout. Not too much. But for the price, I think its okay.
  • The shimmer was very subtle on the colors I got. But I saw after I’d done my eye makeup that there were tiny shimmer particles around my eyes.
  • The swatches on the website are not true to the colors. So its going to be a lot of hits and misses. You could google for swatches, but there’s not that many.

Recommend: Definitely. Especially if you’re a beginner, you can buy these and experiment with colors.

Will I Buy Again: I’ve already picked out the shades for my next order. These are pretty good for the price. Affordable enough for me to experiment.

Availability: You can order from these sites:

October 12, 2010

Jenny Returns


I was quite enjoying the show without whiny Jenny in it. I guess no more of such luck. Jenny returns next week and looks just as trashy as she did when she left. 

October 8, 2010

Mehak's Giveaway at Peaches and Blush

Mehak of Peaches and Blush fame is having a lovely giveaway. 


Its open internationally and ends on November 15th. 

October 7, 2010

Nail Art Enthusiasts

I found this great little site that sells Nail Art stuff in India. And they have the cash on delivery option which means I don't have to beg my dad to let me use his credit card. Yay!!!

Do check this out:
http://nirusystems.biz/

October 6, 2010

My CherryCulture Haul

I’m so excited. My order from CherryCulture just arrived and I’m super excited to try them all.

I didn’t order much because this is the first time that I’m ordering online and I wasn’t so sure about it. But now I’ve this really long list of items to buy from CherryCulture. I have a self imposed shopping ban for October, so I’m going to place the order in November.

Here are the pics of what i bought:

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These are the lippies I bought:

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NYX Round Lipstick in Fig - $2.25

NYX Round Lip Gloss in Cafe Latte - $2.00

Jordana Lipstick in Almond - $1.49

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Wild and Crazy Eyeshadow singles in Angelic Pink, Spring Overture, and Sweet Deal (clockwise from top-left) - $2.00 each

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LA Colors Eyeshadow singles in Onyx, Delight and Silver Streak (from left).  -  $1.99 each (I got one free in the B2G1 free offer)

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NYX Single Eyeshadows in Beauty Queen and Taupe - $3.50 each

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Jordana Powder Blush in Sandalwood – $1.99 each

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NYX Concealer in a Jar in Medium - $5.00

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NYX Long Pencil Eyeliner in Black and Dark Brown - $2.00 ( I got one free in the B1G1 free offer)

I’d wanted the Jumbo pencils too but I completely forgot to order those. Next time though. :P

The shipping came to $12.50. Which isn’t bad considering it would have cost be double if I’d bought these from India.

I’m really impressed with CherryCulture. I took the cheapest shipping option and my order arrived in 8 days. Everything was bubble wrapped nicely and none of the items were damaged.

I can’t wait to order again.

October 5, 2010

Gossip Girl Preview

This is a snapshot from Gossip Girl’s next episode. Don’t they both look adorable? Especially love the dress on Blair. And Serena’s necklace.

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I NEED A GIRLFRIEND

I’ve never been a particularly girly person. From my early years till today, I’ve mostly been surrounded by the members of the opposite sex. When I was younger and dad was still in the army, the only female influence in my life was my mother and fortunately or unfortunately, my mother has never had any interest in fashion, jewellery or makeup. So, I spent most of my formative years not really caring how I looked or dressed. I was always well dressed, my parents made sure of that, but I never put too much effort into it.

blair and serena

I was 12 when I came to Bangalore. Since then, 90% of the friends I made were boys. It wasn’t something I did consciously. I didn’t even realise it till I was much older and the comments started about my hanging out with so many boys. My parents never cared and neither did I. I can count on one hand, the number of girlfriends I have today, out of which 3 have moved out of Bangalore. My best friend of 10 years is a girl, but she’s in a live-in relationship and works close to 80 hours a week. Its almost impossible to get hold of her.

My only other female friend in Bangalore is in an extremely unhealthy relationship that has caused all of her friendships to fall apart.

 Bonnie-and-Elena-damon-and-bonnie-11551317-800-450I spent most of the 4 years of my college with 5 boys that I was really good friends with. I don’t have a single girlfriend that I met in college. It’s not that I didn’t make a single girlfriend, I did, but all of those friendships fizzled out sooner or later.

My friend’s girlfriends thought I was trying to steal their boyfriends and so I never got to get to know any of them either. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t know they existed. I’m pretty much a drama-free person and always tried my best to not get involved. Anyone who’s best buddy is a guy will know how hard it is to maintain your friendship and at the same time make sure you’re not the reason he gets dumped.

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As much I love all of my guy friends, its not always easy being friends with them. They talk a lot of crap, they can be quite insensitive, and well annoying. And there’s the problem of not getting too close to them cos they might think you’re in love with them ( I talk from experience). Men and their giant egos. They think everyone’s in love with them.

And all of these things I can live with. I love my friends. They’ve been there for me through some really tough times and they’ve always looked out for me. And my parents love them too.

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But there are times I really wish I had a girlfriend I could talk to about the girly stuff. Can you believe I have no one I can talk to about boys or take along for shopping or discuss fashion and makeup with? I wish I had a friend I could go with to watch chick flicks and shop and try out makeup with and go to the salon with. Someone who’d tell me honestly if something looks good on me and let me know when I look like I got hit by a truck. Someone who’d notice that I got a new haircut or that I’m wearing a new top.

I've spent most of the recent years convincing myself I don’t need a girlfriend. But who am I kidding right? I miss those days when I had girlfriends and we would spend half an hour on the phone every day discussing what to wear the next day.

Every girl needs a girlfriend, whether we admit it or not.

October 2, 2010

Glitter Glamour Grace Giveaway

The lovely Poornima from Glitter Glamour Grace is holding a giveaway.


Its open to all Indians and the last date for entering is 8th October. 

Favourite Look of the Week

 

Blake Lively Tiffany Co Introduces Eyewear ZhL9Idc_o_xl 

Blake Lively wore this gorgeous Elie Saab dress  to the launch of the Tiffany and Co. Spring 2011 eyewear collection. I love the lace on the dress. Perfectly worn with a side braid and those cute peep-toe pumps.

Her makeup looks so fresh. She looks like she belongs on the beach.

Blake Lively Tiffany Co Introduces Eyewear O-QIj8Ppikxl

Another Boring Day.. *sigh* I wish

 

I’m one of those weird people who gets herself into awkward or embarrassing situations more often than not. I can’t help it. I have a penchant for it. They make for interesting stories.

So, me and my girlfriend (i know the grammar’s wrong. I’m a rebel. Sue me) were shopping at the mall. We were at it for two hours and my friend had spent the last 20 minutes trying to decide which color to buy for a particular dress. I do NOT have that kind of patience. Plus I was thirsty and starving (i skipped breakfast). So I left her at the store and headed over to the food court for some much needed grub. I felt like Chinese. So I was waiting at the Beijing Bites counter to place my order, when this guy comes up and starts chatting me up. He’s really cute, talks well, dresses well and frankly, I was enjoying the attention. He seemed to be alone and that’s weird, I mean who hangs out at a mall alone? So I ask him and he says he’s with his bro and sis-in-law and he got dragged into shopping for his parent’s wedding anniversary. All’s well and good. We get a table and I’m eating and he’s flirting (I might have flirted a little. It wasn’t my fault. The guy had the cutest smile. What sane girl could resist?).

A while later, and there’s no sign of my friend. So, I look towards the entry gate to see if she’s coming and guess who I see. An ex-boyfriend of mine that i haven’t seen in ages, with this pretty little thing on his arms and he’s walking towards me.

Now, for a little bit of history. I dated this guy back in high school and he was much much older to me. Haven’t we all fallen for the older guy atleast once in our lives? We ended on pretty bad terms and I haven’t heard from him since.

So I see this guy after all these years and he still looks the same. I don’t. I was a nerdy geek back in high school, who didn’t even know what mascara was. Now, I’m superficial and vain, but I look good.

Now, two things happened during this encounter that left me wondering if  fate’s playing a cruel joke on me.

1. The cute guy I was chatting up was my ex-bf’s brother.

2. The cute guy I was chatting up was a 17 year-old kid.

The pretty little thing on his arm turned out to be his wife. When did the dude get married? And he didn’t even recognize me at first. I don’t blame him. It’s been 6 years.

So, lets sum up my trip to the mall that I won’t be visiting for a while (scarring memories). My friend is a crazy, annoying shopper. I met my ex-boyfriend, who’s gotten hitched. He has a 17-year-old brother that he caught me flirting with.

Just lovely. *sigh*

I’d love to tell you about the remaining part of the awkward encounter which lasted till I could take it no longer and SOS’d my friend, but it doesn’t get more interesting than this.

On a completely unrelated note, I’m loving that jacket and the belt on Nina Dobrev. The rest of the outfit is kind of meh. Too stereotypically bad girl. I must give credit to Dobrev for the heartless bitch acting though. Very sexy.

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October 1, 2010

Oriflame Giordani Gold Gel Liner Review

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When i got my driving license a few months back, I was horrified looking when I saw my photo. The intense black eye liner look which I loved made me look like a slightly milder version of the new Jenny Humphrey. This is how my hunt for the perfect brown liner started. I still love lining my eyes, but i figured i should cut back a little on the black. I saw this gel liner in the Oriflame catalogue in maybe February or March. It took my consultant two months after I’d ordered it to get it because it was apparently always out of stock. There was also an angled brush for sale with it, which was, I think, for about 99/-. Anyways, I thought I’d review it. So here goes.

Price: Rs. 590/- for 4g. I think I got it for 450/-.

Color: Chocolate Brown

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P.S. Please ignore the eyebrows. Haven’t had time to get it done.

The Good:

I love the packaging. It comes in a tiny pot with a screw-off gold lid. I think its really cute. I’m definitely going to reuse the pot once I’m finished with the liner.

I love the color. Its a nice matte brown.

The constituency is like a very thick cream. Even if  I hold it upside down, no spilling.

It last for pretty much the whole day, but after maybe 5-6 hours, it does start fading a tiny little bit.

The Bad:

The whole application with the angled brush is kind of messy when compared to liquid liners. This wouldn’t be my go-to liner if I was in a hurry.

The liner is very sticky. So much of it sticks on to the brush that i have to clean it after every use. Also, a huge waste of product.

It dries pretty quickly, so I have to make sure I close the cap all the time. It did dry out for me because I leave it open all the time. But i melted it over boiling water. That seems to have solved the problem for now.

I think its a little too pricey for the quality.

The color pay-off isn’t very good.

The brush they sold with it isn’t very good. I use a regular eyeliner brush.

My Verdict: I think its a pretty decent liner. I’m not working yet, so I normally have a lot of time to get ready. But if you’re in a hurry, I wouldn’t recommend this.